NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

Sunday Night Football: Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots

If you’re a pro football betting enthusiast that loves making Over/Under total wagers, then you’re in luck. You’re going to have a great chance to cash in with a total wager when Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers look to pull off the upset over Tom Brady and the red-hot New England Patriots in what looks like an intriguing Week 9 Inter-Conference clash just waiting to happen.

Rodgers and the Packers will be looking to rebound from a crushing loss last weekend while Brady and the Patriots look to extend their impressive winning streak. Now, let’s find out which one of these Super Bowl hopefuls is offering the best value against their Week 9 NFL betting odds on what would be Sunday Night Football.

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay nearly pulled off the upset over the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams before coming up just short in their crushing 29-27 road loss. Aaron Rodgers passed for 286 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while running back Aaron Jones rushed 12 times for 86 yards and one score as the Packers covered the spread as a 7.5-point road dog.

Unfortunately, Green Bay’s overly generous defense gave up 275 passing yards and three TD tosses to Rams quarterback Jared Goff while running back Todd Gurley added 225 total yards of offense and one score. Green Bay would have had a shot to win but the hybrid receiver/running back Ty Montgomery fumbled a kickoff return late when head coach Mike McCarthy said he was supposed to take a knee so that Aaron Rodgers would have one more shot. Green Bay traded safety Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix and Montgomery in a pair of moves this week.

“That play didn’t lose the game but took away an opportunity to win,” Rodgers said.

• Over is 7-1 in Packers last 8 games in Week 9. • Over is 13-3 in Packers last 16 games following an ATS win. • Over is 7-2 in Packers last 9 games following a straight up loss. • Over is 23-7 in Packers last 30 games overall. • Over is 6-2 in Packers last 8 games in November. • Over is 5-2 in Packers last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. • Over is 10-4 in Packers last 14 vs. a team with a winning record. • Over is 35-16 in Packers last 51 road games

New England Patriots

Tom Brady and company have won five consecutive games including their 25-6 smackdown over Buffalo on Monday night. Devin McCourty returned an interception 84 yards for one score and the Patriots defense shut down a Bills offense barely averaging double digits this season.

“I felt like once our offense got one in the end zone, it was big for us to go out there and try to get a stop,” McCourty said. “And it ended up being a turnover for a touchdown.”

Tom Brady completed just 29 of 45 passes for 324 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions but the Packers covered the chalk as a 13.5-point home favorite by shutting down Buffalo’s uninspiring offense.

“They made it tough on us,” Brady said. “We couldn’t get anything going in the red zone, not enough positive plays down there.”

• Over is 4-1 in Patriots last 5 games following a straight up win. • Under is 4-1 in Patriots last 5 vs. a team with a losing record. • Over is 4-1 in Patriots last 5 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game. • Over is 7-2 in Patriots last 9 games when playing on Sunday following a Monday night game. • Over is 25-8 in Patriots last 33 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. • Under is 8-3 in Patriots last 11 games after accumulating more than 350 total yards in their previous game.

Expert Pick and Prediction

With these two teams combining to average almost 55.0 points per game while allowing a combined 47.8 points per contest defensively, I like the Over 56.5 total points to play out in this Week 9 nationally-televised contest. New England has scored 38 points or more in four of their last five games while Green Bay has scored 27 points or more in three of their last six games. These two teams have some mediocre defenses and that leads me to believe this one is going to be a shootout that New England manages to win while the final score lays Over the total.